Numerous electrical circuits, for example, chopper circuits, synchronous regulator circuits, DC to DC converters, synchronous converters, and the like require a number of semiconductor components such as MOSFETs and Schottky diodes. These components are frequently used in portable electronic apparatus and are commonly separately housed and must be individually mounted on a support board. The separately housed parts take up board space. Further, each part generates heat and, if near other components, such as microprocessors, can interfere with the operation of the microprocessor.
It would be desirable to reduce the board space required by plural semiconductor devices and to reduce part count and assembly costs in power converters and other power subsystems for high-density applications.
It would also be desirable to reduce the board space, part count and assembly costs while accommodating diverse devices that operate at different potentials and while having the capacity to remove heat from the devices.